I Was an Island
by roktavor
Summary: Garou bonds with Zenko, overhears a conversation, and has a brief panic over feelings.


**A/N:** For Batarou week day 4, gen prompt: what is family?

* * *

 **I Was an Island**

"Garou."

He thinks someone is maybe calling him, but this bed is too comfy, and Garou is too warm to even consider waking up just yet.

" _Garou_."

Ah, someone is definitely calling him, and that someone is definitely Badd. Which means Garou is in some kind of trouble – maybe Badd finally found out what happened to the rest of his body wash (in Garou's defense, he was told to bathe the cat).

Whatever it is, Garou of course deems it safer to stay sleeping than to face the music. A little later in the day, he'll happily engage in all the banter in the world, but even without opening his eyes he can tell it's still dark out.

"Garou, you piece of shit!"

Insults definitely won't get him awake, either.

"I'm serious, Garou, you better wake the fuck up right now."

Peace seems too much to ask for today, so Garou cracks one eye open. It zeroes in on a currently pant-less Metal Bat, which gets his other eye cracking open. "What's the occasion?" he asks, earning himself an actual scoff.

Badd is a flurry of movement around the room, snatching his folded pants off of the dresser and starting to tug them on. "Monster attack," he says, "threat level demon, three blocks away."

"So?" Garou continues to watch as Badd pulls on his jacket.

" _So_ ," Badd says, levelling Garou with a look as he pushes his hands into his hair in a vain attempt to form it into its signature style, "watch Zenko for me."

Garou blinks. "What?"

"You heard me."

Babysitting duty…? Garou likes Zenko well enough, but surely he can't be expected to…they've never been alone together for an extended period of time, so what if she…isn't she fine on her own? Badd can handle such a low threat level quickly, and will likely be back before Garou knows it, so _why_.

There's the unmistakable crash of a building crumbling in the distance, and the entire house seems to tremble. From down the hall, a door is thrown open, slammed shut, and then Zenko is there.

" _No_ ," is all she says, standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

"Y'know I gotta go," Badd says, squaring off with her. He's got one hand on his hip, and Garou catches himself smiling at the resemblance as he watches from the bed, sitting up for a better view.

Zenko stomps a foot. "It's past bedtime!" she argues. "You promised!"

There's a wince on Badd's face as he crouches down in front of her, presumably so he can make easier eye contact. "Zenko, I'm sorry, but this monster is too close, and I can get to it fastest. I have to help – you don't want it to tear down your school, do ya?"

All Zenko does is continue to pout, while Garou wonders what kind of kid likes school enough to care about the building's safety.

"You promised you wouldn't leave at night."

"I know," Badd says, reaching one-handed for the metal bat he has leaning just inside the bedroom door, "I'm sorry – I wouldn't if I didn't have to, alright?"

Zenko shakes her head, dismissing the idea. "They can get someone else!" she insists. Her eyes are wet and shining in the dark, and the sight hurts Garou, a little.

"Zenko." From the sound of Badd's voice, it hurts him, too – but by now her frown is even deeper, and she's sniffling a little. "Ah, no, please don't cry…." The bat thunks to the floor as Badd scrambles to console his sister, thumbing away her tears as they fall.

Zenko's lower lip continues to wobble. "If you – you stay, I'll st-stop."

"I can't, sis – I gotta help. M'sorry."

Another series of booms rattles the walls, joined by a subtle roaring and distant screams that sound closer all the while. Probably people evacuating. All of that commotion sure is headed right for them, and at this rate, they'll all get caught up in it whether they sit tight or not.

Badd, meanwhile, is squeezing Zenko's shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I'm _so_ sorry, I'll make it up to you I swear. We can go shopping wherever you want tomorrow, but tonight ya gotta stay here with Garou, alright?"

That impressive scowl Zenko has turns on Garou, and he raises an eyebrow at both siblings as Badd gives him a pleading look over his shoulder.

"Don't look at me," Garou says, "I could tag along." Because he _could_ , and he'd be a big help, and Badd knows it.

But Badd sighs, his pleading look morphing into a stink eye pretty quick. " _No_." And then he turns back to Zenko. "Watch him for me, please."

"Only if you stay here!"

Garou is wondering if he should sneak out the window and take care of the threat himself, at this rate. If he cranes his neck, he can kinda see fleeing civilians traipsing through their yard, beating a hasty retreat.

"I can't, Zenko," Badd is saying as he stands, retrieving his bat. "This is my job, but I promise I'll come back to you as soon as I can."

Zenko, for her part, only continues to pout, standing stubbornly in the doorway.

There's the sound of _another_ building collapsing, this time even closer than before. Garou inches closer to the edge of the bed, his gaze slipping back to the window. His hackles are rising at the onslaught of danger signals, and pretty soon he'll run right out of here and into the fight.

"…Sorry about this."

At Badd's voice, Garou whips back around in time to see him grab Zenko with one arm. Her shrieking protests are ignored as he swings her around, tosses her into Garou's lap, and then sprints out the door.

Zenko attempts an immediate escape, but Garou finds his arms tightening around her reflexively so she doesn't fall off the edge of the bed. She squirms violently in his hold, but he hangs on – and in doing so discovers that she's shockingly strong for an eight year old girl.

"Badd!" she shouts.

A call of, "I love you bye!" comes from the front door before it slams closed, and then everything is too quiet.

Well, except for the ever-growing commotion outside. Garou keeps one ear open and all senses focused on that, just in case.

Zenko slumps back against him once it's obvious that her brother is out of reach. She crosses her arms, face set in a furious sort of pout, and Garou again notes the resemblance between her and Badd. Their angry faces are exactly the same.

After a few seconds of silence, Garou cautiously eases his hold and is pleased when Zenko stays in place. She doesn't try to run again.

"Garou," she says, after a minute or two of stewing, "do you have an older brother?"

"No." He wonders about the question, but he's still kind of distracted by everything outside. The flow of civilians through their yard has increased, and he's suddenly all too aware of the underlying 'protect Zenko or else' implications of being appointed babysitter by Metal Bat himself.

"Good. They're shitheads."

Now that gets his attention – Garou chokes on his laughter, unable to stifle it completely.

"Don't tell big bro I said that." Zenko waves a hand, and in all honesty she doesn't sound too concerned about him finding out. "He thinks I don't hear him swearing."

This kid really is Badd's sister, and it turns out she might not be such a pain to look after. Now all he has to worry about is the responsibility aspect of this whole endeavor. "Your secret's safe with me."

Zenko nods, like they've made a pact, and then crawls out of his lap. She scoots to sit against the wall, and Garou angles himself to join her; like this, he has a better view out the window, and can feel more of the tremors that wrack the house. For now, it seems like whatever monster is out there has turned down a different street….

"Our parents died at night, y'know. It was a monster attack then, too."

Garou is shocked speechless. Slowly, he turns to blink down at Zenko, and catches a determined set to her brow. That one tiny sentence is more concrete backstory than Badd himself has ever offered, so this feels something like an invasion of privacy, but he's curious.

He opens his mouth to offer condolences, or maybe comfort? Ask for details? He's not sure. Either way, he doesn't get the chance to make any kind of remark before Zenko is speaking again.

"Since then," she says, "bro's been a hero, an' he's been looking out for me, but he promised never to leave in the middle of the night, because…."

Oh, Garou can guess why. The thought puts a frown on his face.

Zenko leans over until she's propped against Garou's arm. "He…he'll come back, right?"

"He'll be fine," Garou assures automatically. He won't believe anything less himself, and therefore won't let her worry, either. It's only disaster level _demon_ , after all. Besides: "I'm way worse than whatever he's fighting now, and he survived me, didn't he?"

Inquisitive brown eyes squint up at him.

"…What?"

"When we first met," Zenko says, slow and careful, "bro told me to stay away from you, 'cause you were dangerous and mean."

That's fair enough, Garou supposes. That _was_ sort of the effect he was going for, after all.

"But I don't think so anymore, and neither does he."

"Oh?" Conversing with Zenko is turning out to be very enlightening. Garou's been given an awful lot of food for thought in the span of approximately two minutes. Coincidentally, the fleeing civilians have halved in number, and he refocuses on listening for fight details while giving Zenko the other half of his concentration.

"He wouldn't leave me here with you if he hated you," she says with a decisive nod, as if it's that simple. (And, well, knowing Metal Bat, it very well could be.) "I still hafta watch you though."

"Fair enough."

There's quiet for a minute or so, broken only by distant rumbling and tapering screams.

Zenko gets up on her knees, then, and leans in conspiratorially. "…Don't tell big bro, but I want to be a hero someday, too."

Both of Garou's eyebrows rise. He's sure that Badd wouldn't approve, hence the whispering – but he remembers the strength of Zenko's tiny hands, and doesn't doubt her abilities for a second. "I think you'd be even better than he is."

Turns out her smile looks just like her brother's, too.

x

The next evening, Badd is taking far too long to tuck Zenko in, so Garou decides this calls for an investigation. (He doubts his help will be needed, but he considers himself quite good at the 'monster under the bed' talk in particular – no matter what Badd says.)

Zenko's room is only a handful of steps down the hall. On the way there, Garou nearly steps on Tama, who blinks up at him with wide, honeyed eyes. He has no choice but to crouch down and pick her up, and she starts purring as he holds her and scratches her ears.

"Do you like him?" comes Zenko's voice from the doorway to his right.

"Seriously, Zenko, it's time for bed."

From this exchange, it sounds like an interesting debate is taking place. Garou would hate to interrupt – because he's polite like that – so he sticks his back to the wall just outside of Zenko's bedroom. From here he can still hear what's being said, but with none of the risk of discovery. Win/win.

"Don't dodge the question," Zenko is saying, which Garou recognizes as a phrase Badd has used against him on multiple occasions. "Do you like him?"

He can practically _hear_ Badd fidget at the question. "…Why do you wanna know so bad?"

Oho, this is intriguing, Garou will admit – if Badd catches him eavesdropping, he'll be pissed, but that's sort of half of the fun here. Distantly, Garou wonders who they're talking about, and tries not to suspect it's him, but _then_ :

"Because I like him, but you always threaten to kick him out!"

Now that can't be anyone _except_ Garou. There's a notable moment of hesitation before Badd responds, during which Garou notes his own heartrate picking up a little.

"Y'know I'd never actually kick him out," Badd says, an odd note to his voice. "Tama likes him too much."

At the sound of her name, Tama squirms, so Garou secures his hold on her lest she give him away.

"But do _you like_ him?" Zenko presses.

More audible sputtering comes from Badd. "He's on the chore chart, what more do you want?"

"But would you –"

"He's part of the family, alright?" Judging by the sound of Badd's voice, Garou thinks he's probably blushing – which is funny, because Garou's own face is threatening to heat up, too.

"So does that mean you like him?" Zenko goes in for the kill, because of course she does – and suddenly Garou doesn't want to stick around to hear answers.

He sets Tama down, carefully. And then he hurries out of the house, down the street, and right into the closest patch of woods.

Something odd and unfamiliar had sparked in his chest upon hearing those words – that whole 'part of the family' thing – straight from Badd himself. He's not sure what it is, only that it's warm and pleasant and _scary_.

…He's got some thinking to do.

x

Badd, of course, comes to look for him all too soon. Two whole days is too long to be away anymore – nowadays he's only gone hours at most when he wanders off, so _of_ _course_ this long absence has Badd _worried_.

Garou is minding his own business, doing all that thinking while lounging up in a tree when Badd finds him. He's in his hero uniform, shiny metal bat slung over his shoulder, and he's glaring up at Garou as though offended. (Which, come to think of it, he probably is.)

"Where the hell have you been?"

About a million answers zoom through Garou's head at once, all of them deemed far too telling. 'Thinking' is the most accurate. 'Having an internal crisis' would also do. 'Questioning', 'panicking', and even 'running away' are strong contenders.

Thinking is the winner, though, if you put it down to the broadest category. Over the past two days, he's had plenty of revelations, but reached zero conclusions about what to do in regards to them.

…The very concept that S Class hero Metal Bat and his kid sister Zenko are family is….

He doesn't know how to feel. Didn't even want to admit to returning the sentiment at first.

Is this something he wants? He joined their household on a whim and because it was the most comfortable place left to him. Because Badd _intrigued_ him. That's why he spent the time working his way into Badd's life, accidentally gaining his trust enough to live under his roof.

Since then it's only escalated, apparently, but it's been such a gradual thing that Garou's hardly noticed it happening. Only now, looking back, does he see.

Helping Zenko with homework, getting roped into cleaning, being dragged along to the grocery store, _kissing Badd goodbye_ in the mornings….

Garou has unwittingly become part of this family.

"Around," is what he settles on as an answer, after too long of a pause.

"Tch." Badd grumbles something into the ground, and then goes back to glaring up into the tree. "Can ya come down from there?"

Garou leans forward a little on the branch, until leaves obscure his view. "Why?"

There's a heavy thunk as Badd either drops his bat or hits the ground with it – Garou would put money on the latter. "'Cause we're goin' home!"

Tilting his head, Garou considers. "Maybe."

"What the fuck?!" The sound of stomping, and then Badd is right beneath him. Fiery brown eyes have just a hint of something else in them, and Garou is glad he's high enough up not to analyze whatever it is too closely.

"If you answer one question, I'll come down."

Badd, understandably, seems to get even grumpier at this prospect. The crease between his furrowed brows deepens, and his frown stretches even farther down. " _Yeah_? Well what if I knock that tree down with you –"

"Do you like me?" It slips out with less grace than Garou intended, but it still feels like a weight lifted from his chest.

The anger doesn't melt from Badd's face, but his cheeks do flush an immediate, vibrant red. "What kinda question issat?"

"Well," Garou sticks to his guns, now that the question is out, "do you?"

Badd hems, and haws, and scuffs his toe into the dirt along with the tip of his bat. "…Yeah." He swallows. "Sure, fine. _Whatever_. I…." Oh, his face is _very_ red now. "I like ya."

Overexcited butterflies run rampant through Garou's stomach, and he can't bring himself to quell them at all. No matter how annoying or cliché they are. "And you won't kick me out?"

"No, dumbass!" Badd shouts, and oh, Garou can feel the love now. "You're the one who ran away this time! S'just…come home already – Zenko and Tama are worried about ya."

"Just them?"

Badd growls, jaw clenched as he redirects a glare down towards his feet. "…You know I worry about you," he grumbles, so low and reluctant that Garou would think he'd misheard if it wasn't such a touching sentiment.

As it is, it puts a grin on Garou's face and floods his chest with a warmth that is fast becoming familiar and less-scary. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"Get outta that fuckin' tree already."

x

When they get home, Zenko is there, already setting the table for three.

"You found him!" she says, as if she ever had any doubt. Garou has a feeling that, in actuality, her pouting is half of the reason Badd came looking for him.

"Yeah." Badd jerks a thumb over his shoulder at Garou. "He thinks he's clever, but he always hides in the same place…."

Zenko giggles, and Badd ruffles her hair, and Garou…hesitates to enter the scene. To step over the threshold from the living room into the dining room to properly join them.

This…is where he fits? This is what he wants?

He remembers sitting next to Zenko during that monster attack, comforting her and listening to her secrets. Protecting her. He remembers countless nights spent with Badd, countless days of conflict.

"Hey," Badd calls, "get in here, stupid, it's family dinnertime."

 _Oh well_ , Garou thinks – or rather, he doesn't think, because he's done enough thinking over the past two days. "If we were really family," he says, wandering into the dining room, "you'd have better insults."

"Yesterday he called you 'an asswipe string bean with shitty insecurities'."

" _Zenko!_ "

"See, that's a _little_ better…."

* * *

 **A/N:** Song for this title is I Was An Island by Allison Weiss.

I sort of fell in love with their little family unit? And also the idea of Zenko and Garou getting along? Anyway, there wasn't much to this, my fault for picking this prompt when I'm...not the best at these types of things. But I hope it was enjoyable at least.

Also, special footnote bc this is FFN: I skipped posting day 3's fic, bc it's nsfw. If you want to read it, you can find it on my AO3.

Thanks for reading!


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